Brothers
by InfamousLordDilandau
Summary: Ha! The title is misleading because this story is NOT about Folken and Van! It's about Dilandau! Movie Dilandau. Since no real history was given to him in the movie, I've decided to write one up for him. I finally wrote and added chapter 5. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah yeah. I know I don't own Escaflowne, or any of the  
characters in it. I certainly wish I did, but I don't. Um...But I think you  
could have probably guessed that on your own....  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Well, what the hell do you expect me to do with it!?" A girl of about  
nineteen whispered harshly at the older man who seemed to tower over her.  
"I don't care," the man replied sternly. "Just take it away from  
here."  
  
The two made quite the pair. One of them wore several layers and various  
robes. The other showed plenty of skin. One wore dark colors. The other  
wore bright, attractive clothing. One was covered in scars earned in  
battles from the past. The other had a pale, beautiful complexion. One was  
tall, the other only a couple inches over five feet. One was thin and  
muscular. But the other's stomach, which had once been quite slim, now  
swelled with a weight recently placed upon it. One was very familiar, the  
other a complete stranger.  
  
"I can't take it! You know I can't! You've already put me out of work for  
at least three months!"  
"Don't blame me. You should have known you would run into a problem  
like this in your line of work."  
"Please. You take it!"  
"You know that's not even an option."  
"I'll tell... I'll tell everyone what you did..." The girl was now trying  
to threaten the man. However, it didn't work. He just laughed.  
"Please. Who do you think people are going to believe? A king...or a  
whore?"  
  
The girl was silent. She knew he was right. No matter what she said, no one  
would believe her. No one would help her. If she admitted to her  
occupation, she would be thrown in prison. If she tried to tell that the  
baby was his, she'd be thrown in an asylum. There was nothing she could do.  
Shaking, with tears swelling in her eyes, she turned on her heels and ran.  
  
He watched all this. The boy with the mismatched eyes, only ten years of  
age at the time, watched. For the first time in his life, he saw his father  
for who he really was. He watched as his mentor proved to be nothing more  
than a lowlife scoundrel, someone for whom no respect was necessary.  
  
He would remember that woman's face. His father may be able to forget, but  
he would not. He would keep track of her. He would know when the time came.  
  
Author's Note: Ok, so I know the chapter's very short. I wrote it very  
quickly. I'll probably wind up finding a bunch of mistakes and having to  
fix them all, but for now, I'm eager to post something. I hope it didn't  
confuse anyone too much. If you don't get it know, you probably will in the  
next chapter. Heh...ok, I'm rambling, as usually. Well, anyway, R&R!!! And  
I'll put up the next chapter ASAP. 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Ok, first I'd better respond to the review I got (thanks by the way) for my first chapter.  
  
Jhoeydagger: Thanks a lot for the advice. It's appreciated. I'm working on coming up with a good name, but I was too eager to post my first chapter (I get too overly excited about things like that) and I couldn't come up with anything acceptable off the top of my head. And so it remains nameless, but I really am working on it. Nothing has come to me yet.  
  
I agree with you about the summary, but, seeing as I didn't have much of anything to summarize, I couldn't really write much. I will though, as things progress. Well, again, thanks for the advice and the review! Ok, now I'd probably better start the next chapter...  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or its characters. There, I said it.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
It was night, and the young prince, Dune, was nowhere to be found...again. For the past few months, his father had noticed that Dune had developed a new habit of disappearing at around 9:00, and not returning for several hours. He wasn't sure where his son had been going or what exactly he could be doing at that time of night, but he didn't bother asking. Dune was such a strange child. He was always so quiet and hardly ever even spoke to Goau (check this) anymore. Although he wasn't quite sure why, his son had seemed to grow further and further away from him every day.  
  
He and his wife, Varie, had had a lot on their plates with the new baby, Van. Perhaps the new addition to his family was just a little too much for the boy, and he wanted to get out of the palace for a while. Whatever the reason, Goau certainly didn't have enough time to keep track of all Dune's strange habits. As long as the boy wasn't doing anything dangerous, it seemed foolish to worry about him.  
  
Holding true to the vow he had made to himself almost four months ago, Dune had watched the young woman every night. In the beginning, she would often meet someone and disappear for the rest of the night, but after a while that came to an end. The size of her stomach had grown, and no one wanted her anymore.  
  
She was living off of any scraps she could find in the garbage, or whatever she could beg off of strangers, which wasn't much. Occasionally, when it was obvious she wouldn't find anything on her own, Dune would leave food in places where she knew it would find it, but he never showed himself and she never suspected the food was left intentionally.  
  
But tonight all that would come to an end. The girl was just scrounging for food, as usually, when something different happened. Without warning, she jolted up, clutching her stomach, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes were wide and she just stood, staring for a moment. She looked down and saw something that Dune could not.  
  
"Oh no...please...not now..." she whispered softly, tears swelling in her eyes. Dune tried to get a bit closer, to see what was wrong, but he was too late. The girl ran off into the night.  
  
He tried to follow her, however, he could not go as fast as she was, since he had to be careful not to be seen. But every few minutes, she would have to stop, backing into an alley. She would whimper softly, clenching her teeth so as not to make too much noise. During these times, Dune was able to catch up. He could see she was in pain and realized that it must be time. Finally.  
  
But if she kept hiding like this, no one would find her and help her deliver the baby. Dune simply could not let that happen. He had waited far too long for this.  
  
He continued to follow the girl, until finally she came to a stop. She was in too much pain and could not run any longer. While she hid, trying hard not to scream, Dune ran to the closest midwife, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head.  
  
"Excuse me, ma'am, but there is a woman in an alley. I think she needs help. Please, get your things. I'll lead you to her."  
  
The woman seemed a bit discontented, but she knew it was her obligation to go. And she did. That was the night the baby was born.  
  
As much as Dune wanted to stay and make sure the girl could take care of the child, he knew he had already interfered too much. If he stayed any longer, his identity would certainly come into question. So, before anyone had time to notice, he disappeared into the darkness. There was nothing more he could do. Everything was in her hands now.  
  
Author's Note: Yay! That part is done! I can finally get to Dilandau! Anyway, I hop everybody liked this chapter. R&R and I'll post the next chapter soon! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey! I'm back!!! Yes, I know... it's about time... ::Sigh:: Well, I don't really have a good excuse for not writing for such a long time, so I won't bother trying to give one. (Although, more reviews may encourage me to update faster... ::hint hint:: )

In response to my review from Nera Lunne:

THANKS!!! (nn

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or any of the characters in it, although, if someone wants to give them to me, I'd be more than happy to take them. Not gonna happen? Didn't think so. Oh well, it was worth a try anyway.

Chapter 3 

The girl lie panting on the ground, covered in sweat and dirt, staring at the old woman who had come to her rescue.

"H...how did you...know...I was here?" she asked, her voice weak and quiet.

"Some boy told me I could find you here. I think you scared him off with your screaming though. He left quite a long time ago." The old woman cradled the newborn in her arms. It had taken her a while to quiet _its_ screaming, but now it was sleeping soundly in the crook of her right arm. "It is very late, you know, and I want to go home. But I suppose I can't very well leave you out here alone. Are you ready to get up, now?

The young girl sighed. "You may as well leave me here. I can't pay you."

"Nonsense. It wouldn't be right of me to do such a thing. Come on now. Stand up." With her free hand, the elderly midwife shouldered her bag and helped the exhausted girl to her feet. The two hobbled their way back to the woman's small abode at a very slow pace. Both were very relieved when they arrived at her front door. The old woman rummaged around in her pack for her house key, then threw open the door, allowing the young girl to enter her cozy, warm, one-room home.

Once inside, the girl breathed a loud sigh of relief, throwing herself down on an empty cot, not bothering to rid it of the clothing and stray items which had been previously thrown on it for lack of a better place to store them. The old woman bustled about quietly, putting the instruments from her bag back in their place with a seemingly huge sense of purpose and duty. She didn't say a word until her work was almost entirely done.

"You surprise me..." she said, her back still turned the young girl, who had closed her eyes and was nearly asleep.

"Do I?"

"Yes. Most new mothers insist upon seeing their babies before I've even finished cleaning them. And yet you seem to have already forgotten your child altogether. You haven't even asked whether it is a boy or a girl."

The girl sighed. She wished she _could_ just forget about it. Even after all these months, she still hadn't decided what she was going to do with it. It had been her enemy for the longest time, almost as much as its father. She didn't really care what it was.

"Fine. Which is it?" she grumbled.

The old woman turned and walked over to the girl's bed, cradling the tightly wrapped baby in her arms. "_It_ is a boy," she answered bluntly, handing the bundle to its mother.

Letting out a small groan, as if the very effort of holding her own child was enough to kill her, the girl sat up, taking the baby from the midwife as if it were nothing more than a doll, holding it carelessly in one arm and taking her time to rub her tired eyes with the other. After the prolonged moment of annoyance she openly displayed, she gazed for the very first time on the face of her son, whom she carried inside her for nine months against her will.

Author's Note: Ok, here's another really short chapter. But don't worry (as if anyone's worrying), I'm going to write another really soon. No more waiting months before posting. I promise. I actually would have made this chapter longer, but it just seemed like such a perfect place to stop! And sorry about lying about having lots of Dilandau in this chapter. I honestly thought I would. Next chapter. R&R!!!! I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Heh! I told you it wasn't gonna take me long to post another chapter! I'm stuck home by myself everyday for the next few weeks with nothing better to do (except read that stupid book for school...), so I thought I would work on my story a little more! (nn I just hope people are actually reading it. Oh well, even if they aren't I'm going to keep writing it anyway! (nn

There weren't any reviews on the last chapter so I guess we can just move on to the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own Escaflowne. You can tell because there has only been one movie and it had nothing to do with the end of the series. (--;;;;

Chapter 4 

The girl screamed.

"I knew it!" she cried, in terror. "It's a demon! Get it away from me!" She dropped the child onto the bed, causing _it_ to start screaming as well, and moved as far away from it as she could.

The old woman, quite displeased with the girl's behavior, snatched up the baby in her arms again. "What on Gaea are you doing!? You can't treat a newborn like that! And I had _just_ got him to stop crying too...!" She began rocking the infant and trying to hush its cries. "He's your child!"

"No! No!" the girl screamed. "It's a demon! Just look at it!"

"Shhhh!" The old woman glared harshly at the upset young girl, then turned her gaze to the toddler's face. "Now calm down. He's not a demon simply because he has white hair. Some children are born like that. It's not that rare an incident."

"It's eyes! Look at it's eyes!"

"I see them." The woman replied, annoyed. "There's nothing wrong with _them _either."

"They are the color of blood!"

"So is the cover of that book over there and you aren't afraid of _it_, are you?"

Getting no response, the old woman continued. "Now listen. The child may look a little different compared to others, but that does not change the fact that he is _your child_." Finally succeeding in getting the baby to fall asleep again, she placed him gently in an empty cradle she had set up in the room. She covered him carefully with a soft blanket, then turned back to his mother, her voice quieted so as not to disturb him. "You are exhausted. Forget about all this for the night, and tomorrow we can start over. Sleep now."

The girl nodded, still pale from her encounter with the "demon." She lay her head down slowly on the pillow, pulling the blankets up to her chin and curling up. She was fast asleep in seconds. The old midwife shook her head, retiring silently to her quarters.

The next night, Dune searched frantically all over Fanelia for the girl. He checked all of the places she usually spent her time, he checked the old midwife's home, he even listened into the homes of some of her past customers. He left food for her to come and find, but she never came to collect it. She was nowhere to be found. He knew how much she hated the child. He just prayed she wouldn't do anything stupid before he was able to find her.

That morning, the girl had been lectured on the care-taking of infants for well over two hours. She hardly even _pretended_ to be listening, and certainly didn't retain any of the information. No matter how hard the old woman tried to get through to her, her efforts never seemed to have any effect on the girl. She had made up her mind the night before. She would have no use for the information the woman was trying to give her.

By the time the sun set, the woman finally ceased her attempts to enlighten the girl. She wrapped the child tightly in blankets to keep it warm, and, almost reluctantly, handed him over to his mother. This time, though, the girl did not scream. She took him willingly, holding him properly in the crook of her arm only after having it positioned by the old woman, and looked into his pale, ghostlike face. Oh yes, her mind was made up. She finally knew what she was going to do.

Dune's desperate search continued into the late hours of the night without yielding any result. He didn't know where else to look. He had searched the entire city. _Except one place..._ It occurred to him that he had overlooked only one area of the city, but it certainly had not been unintentional. _Surely she wouldn't go there,_ he thought. _Everyone knows that the beastmen... but maybe... maybe that's what she's counting on... oh Gods... I better hurry..._

He began running towards the city's waste disposal site. It was a place that was always avoided by civilians. It was common knowledge among the citizens of Fanelia that the beast tribes dwelling in the forest surrounding the city often visited the location to search for food. But, based on the savage reputation given to these creatures, the Fanelian people were terrified at the very thought of encountering one. Instead, they avoided the place like the plague. The king allowed the beast people to scavenge in the dump only as a way to prevent them from attacking the city. If Dune's hunch was right, and the girl really _was_ bringing the baby there, who knows what would happen to it? He had to hurry. He had to stop her.

By the time he reached the dump, however, his hopes were dashed. He caught a glimpse of the girl, but she was not entering the dump, she was leaving it. She had a small smirk on her face.

And there was nothing in her arms.

Dune ran toward the dump. He was staring at the girl with wide eyes, but she hardly seemed to notice. Despite the many times he had seen her, she had never laid eyes on him, and she couldn't care less about him right now. She was too relieved about her latest accomplishment to observe some little cloaked boy. For all she knew, he was dropping some garbage off too.

But he knew and his gaze was never taken from her. He slowed down a bit when passing her. "What have you done...?" he whispered, but she heard him loud and clear. Although he had continued running, the girl stopped dead in her tracks. By the time she turned around to get a closer look at the boy, he had disappeared. Spooked, she now hurried away from the area, as if to escape from what both she _and_ he knew she had done.

Dune raced through the dump, searching anxiously for any sign of his newborn half-brother. As he made his way deeper and deeper into the landfill site, the faint sound of crying began growing louder and louder. He followed the noise until he was close enough to see its source, and the target of his search: a newborn child wrapped tightly in a light blue blanket.

Unfortunately, he was not the only being in the dump that night that had heard the child's blood-curdling screams. Towering over the bundle was a very large, well-built looking creature who stood like a man but possessed the face of a dog. His body was covered with magnificent long, golden fur. His clothing, however, did not do it justice, being little more than rags.

But his eyes were what interested Dune the most. They were not at all what he had expected. Instead of wild and dangerous, the creature's eyes had a curious and gentle look. It was for this reason Dune hesitated from recklessly attacking the beast. He decided to stay hidden and watch for a moment instead.

After observing the screaming infant for a minute or so, and glancing around several times to find any trace of its mother, the dog man bent down slowly, and, with more care and tenderness than Dune thought the large creature could possibly possess, he lifted the child into his arms, rocking it gently in his arms, making soft hushing noises. What surprised Dune even _more_ than the beast taking this action, was the fact that it actually worked. Instead of scaring the child and making its cries worse, the man had actually managed to quiet him. Dune watched in amazement as the toddler began playing with the creature's soft fur, and actually smiling.

Maybe this was the answer then. Dune watched the dog man closely, observing how he handled the child with so much caution and care as if he was holding something as fragile as a butterfly. He watched the beast laugh softly as the child tugged on his fur. It seemed quite obvious that he meant no harm to the child, and, now that Dune thought about it, there was really nothing _he_ could do with it. In the past hours of the night, he knew that he was going to rescue the baby, but he hadn't really planned on what he was going to do with it after he did. So maybe this was the best course of action, then. To allow the beast man to take it. It seemed like it would be the best thing for all of them.

With a small, content smile, Dune backed silently away from the scene and made his way back home.

Author's Note: YAY!!!!! Another chapter, finished! I think this is my longest chapter yet, too! And next chapter, Dilly won't be a baby anymore! Sorry setting whole thing up took so long, but it was kind of important. Ok, I don't really have much to say, except R&R, and I'll see you next time! (nn


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Ha ha ha! So you all thought I was dead! Or worse! That I had abandoned my story (Honestly D, do you think anyone even really cares?)! Well I haven't! I just...er... didn't work on it for...3...years...(6.6;; Heh anyway, I decided to start working on it again. Hopefully I'll actually be able to concentrate on it enough to finish it before it's done. If you're reading this for the first time, as I'm sure you all probably are, you'll note that, at this point, my writing voice is going to be a lot different. That is because I'm 3 years older than I was when I started it. Hopefully it will be better from this point on. I hope.

For anyone who reviewed this story ages ago, I read them today, and I love you all! (Especially Folkie-sama, but that's not so much based on his review, which was basically, "I can't find anything wrong with it so I'll shut up." (n.n )

Disclaimer: In case you were wondering, this is what I've been doing this whole time. Trying to enslave the rights to "Tenkuu no Escaflowne". And guess what? I failed. I still don't own Escaflowne. Pity me. ::tear::

AH! HERE WE GO!

--------------

Chapter 5

"Come on, Jajuka! You promised! Let's go!"

The little boy and the ball of fuzz standing next to him were tugging relentlessly at Jajuka's clothing. He smiled down at them, resting his hand on Dilandau's head.

"Before breakfast? Don't you want something to eat first?"

"No!"

"We're not hungry!"

The two boys chimed in almost simultaneously. Neither of them had ever really had much in the way of patience. Jajuka had promised them earlier in the week that he would take them on this little hunting excursion in order to help them to improve, and neither of them had been able to stop talking about it ever since. While he knew that the art of hunting was quickly becoming an almost completely pointless thing to know, it was still a "cool" thing to do among the children of the clan. Dilandau and his best friend, Gamba, just loved it. Jajuka was glad that the children were still able to find something to do that would make them feel proud of themselves. Proud of who they were.

The current state of their clan was definitely not good. The nations of Gaia were essentially phasing beast people out. The restrictions on what they were allowed to do and to own were increasing at a sickening pace. In most countries, they were no longer allowed to participate in trade or even visit the marketplace. They had been relocated numerous times, to conditions that were just becoming less and less workable. The hunting restrictions were basically impossible to get around, and the land they had been provided with to do so were simply inadequate. But it wasn't as if there was anywhere they could go to get away from the countries' laws. Everywhere belonged to someone or other. No land was free anymore.

"Alright then. If you're really not hungry, we'll go. But I don't want to hear one word about it later, understand?"

The boys grinned and scurried away to collect their knives and spears, enthusiastically promising that they wouldn't. Jajuka tucked two pieces of bread into the pouch at his side and followed the two boys into the forest.

------------

"Your suspicions have been affirmed, sir! The scouts have located a small clan of dog men five miles from this location!"

The dark man slowly raised his head, and, although the perpetual frown he always wore remained on his face, he seemed pleased.

"Perfect. Prepare everyone to move out."

"Sir!"

He let the soldier run off before rising to his feet. A pretty young girl with long white hair stepped silently into place behind him.

"It is him then. Everything is coming together as you had hoped it would, Lord Folken."

-------------

Author's Note: Well, it's something at least. Sorry it's so short. I'll really try not to abandon the story again. R&R!!


End file.
